


Prioritizing is a valuable skill

by Lady_hakunamatata



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Adam Parrish Loves Ronan Lynch, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Gen, M/M, POV Ronan Lynch, Pynch Fluff, Ronan Lynch Loves Adam Parrish, Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish Fluff, not a sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-23 21:22:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13198815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_hakunamatata/pseuds/Lady_hakunamatata
Summary: Ronan Lynch was not a fretter. He wasn’t easily shaken and he didn’t have a habit of worrying over insignificant things.





	Prioritizing is a valuable skill

**Author's Note:**

  * For [iwannadateizzy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwannadateizzy/gifts).



> Honestly, I'm really insecure about this one (even though it took me forever to write and I had plenty of time to fix it in the process) so I'd really appreciate the feedback.

The sun was setting, covering the Barns under its orange-yellow glow. Ronan walked back inside, Opal not far behind, for once; she had been lured out of her hiding place- and without Adam’s assistance, which was an accomplishment in itself- with the promise of warm food and a game before sleep. Even though she didn’t attend school, they still made sure she had a routine as close to a normal child as they could give her. That included a somewhat normal sleeping schedule. 

Adam had stayed inside to read, despite Ronan’s insistence, arguing that if he got as much done now, he’d have much more time to spend relaxing the next couple days. There wasn’t much to argue with his logic, and Ronan had learned not to even try ; something that, to Ronan’s amusement, Aurora had been quicker to pick up on: it was almost comical to see her taking Adam’s side whenever Ronan tried to complain about the possibility of Adam working himself to death one day. So tonight, when Ronan had gone out to tuck all the animals back in their places and leave everything ready for the night, Adam had stayed where he was, sitting on the couch with a blanket on his lap and books spread all around himself. 

Except when Ronan came back inside, the picture he found was slightly different than the one he’d left behind on his way out. Adam was still on the couch, head propped on his elbow, eyes closed, while most of the books had ended up on the floor. The sight was enough to halt Opal to a stop, when she always ran to Adam’s side at the sight of him. Ronan loved her a little more in that moment, her own love for Adam like a small flame warming Ronan’s heart. She looked up at Ronan, the crease on her forehead so similar to Adam’s own frown that it made Ronan smile despite himself. He signaled for her to go to the kitchen and approached Adam alone, carefully setting the books on the coffee table. For the past few weeks, Adam had been doing work for his classes almost non-stop, often bringing his sleep time to a minimum, something Ronan had started to resent, and saw his emotions justified by the sight before him. 

Ronan reached out to brush a strand of hair that was close to Adam’s eye, and flinched at the touch. Adam's skin was burning. Ronan cursed out loud before being able to stop himself, and Adam weakly stirred awake.  
“Sorry,” Ronan grimaced, looking down at Adam, who was still blinking slowly at him, a faint smile on his face. It was a miracle, really, that no matter the circumstances, the sight of Ronan as Adam opened his eyes after sleep always seemed to make him smile.  
“It’s okay, don’t worry.” Adam brought his hand out from under the cover and squeezed Ronan’s fingers, gazes never breaking contact.  
Ronan cleared his throat and shifted the position of his hand so he was the one with the firm grip on Adam’s. He pulled Adam up with a grunt. Adam groaned at the effort and at having to leave his comfortable spot on the couch.  
“Let’s get you to bed, Parrish,” he grunted through the effort of helping a weak-legged Adam to his feet. As they awkwardly walked to their bedroom, Adam leaning heavily against Ronan’s side, Opal still hadn’t made an appearance. Ronan silently thanked her perceptive nature.  
By the time Ronan had managed to properly put Adam to bed, Adam was on the verge of falling asleep again. With nothing else to do in the room, Ronan made his way out and went to check on Opal. To his surprise, he found her in the kitchen, in the middle of peeling potatoes. She paused for a second to look up when she heard her approach.  
Ronan sent her a questioning look, raising his eyebrow.  
“It’s for the chicken soup,” she announced. “For Adam.” As if that wasn’t clear. She would sooner chew her arm off before willingly help Ronan just for Ronan’s own sake, but her devotion to Adam went to great lengths.  
“And what else goes into a chicken soup?” Ronan teased, while making his way inside the kitchen and to the fridge.  
“Chicken,” Opal said firmly. She seemed to think it was a stupid question, but it was exactly Ronan’s intention, to distract her and keep her from worrying too much- which he knew she was doing. He got to work quickly alongside her, and soon they had everything in order. She didn’t ask how Adam was doing, but the nervous edge to her very movement told Ronan that she was worrying even if she wasn’t willing to allow Ronan to see it openly. 

When dinner was done, Opal shooed Ronan off to help Adam get ready to eat in bed. Ronan shook his head and complied. He was still chuckling when he entered the room he and Adam shared- the same one that had once belonged to his parents, what seemed like several lifetimes ago. He still got a thrill sometimes out of being able to enjoy the space so freely.  
A heavy-lidded Adam interrupted his day-dreaming, tugging him back to the joyful reality he was living, slightly marred by the unhealthy pallor of Adam’s face, the exhaustion painfully obvious. Ronan sat down next to Adam, wrapping his fingers around one of his hands while he reached with the other for the glass of water on the nightstand.  
“You need to power up on the fluids if you want to be back on your feet quickly, Parrish,” he said, hoping the light-toned phrasing would well hide the mild scolding behind it. Ronan had really lost count of how many times he’d warned Adam of something like this happening; he didn’t want Adam to sacrifice his own health for his academic success, was that really that hard to understand? He would have laughed at his boyfriend’s stubbornness any other time, but seeing Adam’s current condition wasn’t all that funny to Ronan. With one last gentle touch to the back of Adam’s hand, he stood back up. “Try not to fall asleep while I go fetch you some food.”

Ronan Lynch was not a fretter. He wasn’t easily shaken and he didn’t have a habit of worrying over insignificant things. So it was weirdly unsettling to notice how in that moment, Ronan suddenly understood what it meant whenever someone said that their stomach “dropped”. Rationally, he knew that Adam wasn’t in danger of dying or anything remotely serious- not if he took proper care of the situation, anyway- but he still couldn’t shake the dread off. Which, obviously, made him pissed. Pissed at himself for losing grip of the situation so easily, when it seemed Adam himself was unsettlingly calm. The whole situation was a crap-fest. 

To Ronan’s relief, Adam didn’t fall asleep again while they all had dinner- in bed, around him, due to Opal’s insistence. Even though he had eaten mostly in silence, visibly worn out by the fever and general exhaustion, Opal didn’t seem to mind, her eyes showing the same brightness whenever she looked at him. It was times like this that left Ronan wildly unsettled; his brain couldn’t decide who he was more jealous of: Adam, for capturing Opal’s attention in a way Ronan himself could barely imagine ever being able to; or Opal, for being capable of bringing out that tender, cheery side that Adam seemed to keep under seven locks most of the time. It wasn’t that Adam didn’t seem happy when he was with Ronan: Ronan saw all the ways they shared happiness every day- and he felt grateful every day to be the one to bring Adam that joyfulness; but it was obvious that the connection between him and Opal was special in a way Ronan could only dream to comprehend. Admittedly, it was a stupid thing to be jealous of, but he couldn’t help it sometimes. 

“Thank you,” Adam touched Ronan’s cheek, turning on his spot between Ronan’s legs, after they’d had dinner, and Ronan had tucked Opal into bed. Ronan covered Adam’s hand with his own.  
“It’s nothing, Parrish,” he said, softly. There was a high amount of that in Ronan’s life lately: he had almost forgotten that he was actually capable of being gentle. It felt pleasant, for a change, to shed that hard skin he’d kept for far too long, to relieve his shoulders from that weight and feel like he could breathe again. “I wouldn’t have let you starve just cause you got sick. I’m not a monster.”  
“No, you’re not,” A frown creased his brow, and Ronan fought the urge to kiss it away. He’d meant the comment to be a joke, not to upset Adam. Adam didn’t comment further on it, but sighed.“I didn’t mean that, though. I meant thank you for not saying ‘I told you so’, even though I deserve it.”  
Ronan exhaled as Adam shifted to his initial position. He pressed a kiss to the top of Adam’s head. “Shut up.”  
Adam chuckled softly as he sank against Ronan’s chest, tugging at Ronan’s arms until there was a Ronan-shaped cocoon wrapped around him. It was such an unusual event for Adam to get sick, that Ronan often forgot how needy he got when it happened, how he always sought to be as close to Ronan as possible. Ronan loved every bit of it. This, he could give: this sense of safety and comfort that Adam got from the closeness. It also helped to satiate Ronan’s own need to be the force that stood between Adam and any form of harm. 

They remained for a few moments in companionable silence, just holding each other as the cool spring night fully set in, bringing along its comforting quietness. These moments were the most precious to Ronan: he knew Adam wasn’t one to seek useless noise- even if it came in the shape of his own voice. And if he were to be honest, Ronan came to love Adam’s quiet nature, he basked in it, relishing the balance it brought when combined with the chaotic restlessness that was Ronan himself. 

After a while- which could have been minutes or hours, Ronan didn’t care- he felt Adam relax against him. Ronan started an attempt to disentangle himself so he could settle Adam comfortably on the bed, but Adam pulled him back.  
“Just hold me for a little while longer, yeah?” Adam asked, his Henrietta drawl coating Ronan in a layer of honey that did funny things to his insides. 

How could he refuse?

**Author's Note:**

> Happy super, super belated birthday babe (Sasha)! This is Part I of your gift- I hope I'm able to be done with Part II before 2018! Anyway, stay tuned cause I'll be posting again, hopefully, very soon!


End file.
